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G’Day! Australia Cannot Stop This ETF Avalanche

BY | ETF Database
5:07 am ET 08/28/26 | 27 VIEWS
I spent the last two weeks in Australia hanging out with kangaroos and koalas. However, the ETF market didn’t take a vacation while I was away. Industry inflows stayed on an absolute tear. August has already pulled in a massive $150 billion in net new assets, driving the total year-to-date haul toward $1.4 trillion. With the college football season kicking off, the ETF industry is within striking distance of shattering last year’s $1.5 trillion all-time record before we even hit September.M&A Madness: Scale, Capabilities, and Smart BetaWhile I was making new animal friends, asset managers and index providers were busy expanding their footprints: T. Rowe Price & F/M Investments: T. Rowe Price agreed to acquire F/M Investments. This deal brings F/M’s specialized fixed income capabilities into the fold. Most notably, the $7 billion US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF (TBIL A-) will soon complement T. Rowe’s existing active lineup like the $2.5 billion T. Rowe Price Aggregate Bond ETF (TAGG ). Victory Capital’s Megadeal: Victory Capital announced a deal to acquire First Eagle, creating a $571 billion asset giant. First Eagle brings a strong mutual fund franchise to sit along with brands like Pioneer and Victory. Though First Eagle has only recently entered the ETF market, two of its global equity ETFs, FEGE and FEOE, have been success stories. These can work nicely in a portfolio with the firm’s flagship U.S. free cash flow suite. The VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF (VFLO B+) just surged past $10 billion, and its growth companion GFLW crossed $1 billion. VettaFi / RAFI Indices: VettaFi formally closed its deal to acquire RAFI Indexing, accelerating its smart-beta footprint. The RAFI fundamental suite powers ETFs from Schwab and Invesco. By bringing RAFI’s experienced team into VettaFi, the combined organization pairs institutional research rigor with VettaFi’s proprietary Index Factory platform and expansive distribution capabilities. Rebrands, Executive Moves, and Market DataThe structural changes kept rolling across both established brands and nimble innovators: FlexShares Rebranding: Northern Trust Asset Management announced it is bringing its popular FlexShares ETFs directly under the primary Northern Trust brand. For example, the Northern Trust Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR A+), manages $7 billion. Corgi’s Strategic Play: Emerging provider Corgi added major institutional legitimacy by bringing on industry veteran Jeff Weniger as chief investment officer. Corgi has been rapidly expanding its thematic lineup to nearly 200 ETFs and $1 billion in assets, though the vast majority sits in its flagship photonics fund, the Corgi Lithography & Semiconductor Photonics ETF (EUV). Weniger spent many years educating advisors about equities at WisdomTree. It’s good to be back on U.S. soil. If the last two weeks proved anything, it’s that even when you cross the globe, the momentum in the ETF ecosystem never slows down. For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Thematic Investing Content Hub. VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for VFLO and GFLW, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, VFLO and GFLW are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of VFLO or GFLW.

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